A/N: Tim is slowly recovering from being in Devlin's clutches a second time. With Samantha now part of the family, and Tim determined to marry her, Jason and Dick have taken it upon themselves to teach Tim how to please a woman without Bruce knowing about it. Something powerful happens and two brothers are in hot water with their father. Dick and Jason decide they had better keep out of Bruce's way for a while by taking a case that leads them out of Gotham. The case however has to be interrupted when word reaches them that Tim has a life threatening illness or is it? And has that case actually come to Gotham?
New Life, Death, and Soul Easters
by
AJRedRobin and JasonToddLover
Part 2: A Course of Action
Bruce walked down to the cave. He changed into some sweats and went to the gym area and started punching the bag. He was livid, pissed at how irresponsible his first three sons have become. To tell the truth he was angry at Jason, but how can you argue with him. He's going to do what he wants. Right now he was on probation. If he didn't stop killing after six months, he was going to have to go back to Arkham. He didn't want that, but Jason could be a loose cannon. Maybe having children would soften him up and he'll be more responsible. Bruce punched that bag until he knocked the stuffing out of it. He was sweating, breathing hard afterward. He picked up a towel and went over to the bat computer to check for any possible serious crimes.
'When was there not any serious crimes,' Bruce scoffed. He looked at the stack of unsolved cases that Gordon had given him. There were several children that had disappeared within the past week. And that case started in Chicago. And then there was the series of jewelry heists, and the armor piercing bullets that keep being filtered into Gotham's underworld. There were way too many cases for one man to solve alone.
'I need to shower and dress,' Bruce thought. 'I need to get my sons to take a case or two.'
JBDJBDJBD
Jason came back after looking for Alfred. "I couldn't find Alfred anywhere."
"Dad said it was his night off."
"Oh well, gee thanks for that tidbit. You had me running around . . . "
"It wasn't me," Dick corrected. "Besides, I don't feel like pizza any more."
"That's not like you," Jason said.
"Well, Dad kind of read me the riot act." Dick was leaning against the wall near the stairs, his head down.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Dad's pissed at me, again."
"So what else is new? He's been pissed for quite a while."
"Not like this," Dick stated. He told Jason what happened. "Let's just go upstairs. We can watch TV in my room."
As they passed Tim's room, they could hear him crying out.
"Samantha? . . . Samantha! ... Samantha!" Tim was screaming. "NO NOT MY BROTHER DICK!"
"Tim?" Dick opened Tim's door. He could see Tim was thrashing about and screaming. He was having a night terror. Dick rushed over to Tim's bed and tried to wake him up. "Baby bird. Wake up I'm right here."
"They're gone! They're all gone! I'm alone!"
"Tim...Wake up!" Dick sat on the bed and went to hold onto him.
"No . . ." Tim started crying. "No . . . no . . . no . . . "
Dick let his aura connect to Tim's, trying to sooth him. "Calm down . . . please. It's me...Dick. I didn't leave you."
Tim continued to cry, but soon became aware of Dick holding him, his aura surrounding his and calming him down. Tim's breathing started to even out and he fell back asleep, exhausted from the emotional terror his mind had played on him.
"Hey, what's with Replacement. I didn't think he would be having any more bad dreams once Devlin was taken care of."
"I don't know. I don't think that was about Devlin."
"What else could it be?" Jason questioned. "By the way, I forgot to ask. Why did you leave Gordon's place so fast just as Sasha and I were arriving."
"Oh that." Dick glared, but it wasn't directed at Jason. "Adriana came back from the dead somehow. I got a distress call from Tim telepathically."
"No shit. Bruce cut the damn bitch's heart out. How could she come back?"
"I don't know Jason. I really don't know. She almost tried to kill Samantha right in front of Tim."
"I noticed her arm was broken . . . Bitch do that too?"
"She did," Dick answered. "It was broken from her wrist straight to her collarbone. Alfred put a cast on it. That's why we were late."
"Oh man . . . That'd kill me if it happened to Sasha . . . So what happened afterward?"
"You're going to think this is weird, but Tm and I were able to create weapons from our aura's. Tim speared her with it, but I pushed it through and twisted . . ." Dick shook the image out of his head. Seeing that demon finally die was enough for him. He was still questioning what happened. "The bitch didn't die fast enough for my liking."
Jason could tell that Golden Boy was serious. Oddly enough, he believed him. "I believe you. I've had some strange experiences with the Outlaws myself."
"Tim has gone through enough. Speaking of which, we need to avoid Bruce at all cost. With him pissed at Tim and I . . . "
"What did you do?" Jason said. "You only told me about what he said about Tim."
"I might have gotten Babs pregnant...I told Bruce."
"Oh man . . . Dick . . . You shouldn't have told him unless you were absolutely sure."
"I'm pretty sure it's positive," Dick stated. "You didn't catch how Sasha and Samantha stared at Babs after we finished up."
"You did tell him about Gordon saying yes."
"I did. He was happy about that part."
"You know, Bruce didn't bat an eye when it came to Sasha and I. Though I wished he had. Maybe I remember him just glaring at me, but if he had at least yelled at me, I would have known whether he cared."
"He cares about you, Jason."
"Not half as much as he does the three of you," Jason grumbled. "I'm on his shit list. But you and Replacement . . . I think he was hoping you and he would keep to certain values . . . You know what I mean."
"Again. I disappoint him. Again. In less then a fucking month," Dick swore. He placed a hand to cover his face while still holding onto a sleeping Tim.
"Well, it ain't like your not going to marry the girl," Jason pointed out. "I know you Golden Boy, if it wasn't the Gordon girl, it could have been someone else and you'd take responsibility and marry her."
"Doesn't matter, if Bruce doesn't kill me, Batman will," Dick scoffed. 'I just got back in Bruce's good graces since we had that falling out.'
"Dad will forgive you, you know that. Now Replacement, I'm shocked. I'd thought he'd wait for both. He's too fucking young to be married and a father. Of course look at me. I'm not much older."
"Like I told Bruce. He was going to wait but after today . . . Shit I'm a horrible role model for Tim, too," Dick admonished himself. "I think I should leave."
"No, you don't," Jason argued, his voice going down to a whisper so as not to suddenly wake Tim. "You're his fucking real brother. It'd break his heart if you leave. If anything, I'm the bad influence. Sasha and I can't keep our hands off each other. Actually Sasha can't keep her hands off of me. Ever since she became pregnant, again. She's horny as all get out."
"What am I going to do?" Dick questioned. "If Babs aborts the baby I'm going to be pissed with her. I want a family. If not, Bruce is going to be pissed at me if I don't get married." Dick was rambling. 'Babs may have said yes, but it seemed, now that I think about it, her heart really wasn't in it. What if she really does decide to abort the baby and not marry me.'
"Nah, Bruce will forgive you. Just give it some time. It's actually nice taking a break," Jason said. "I almost wish I had some kind of mission to go on so I can rest up."
"Take me with you." Dick suddenly stated.
"You want to work on a case?"
"Why not," Dick shrugged his shoulders. "Lately we've just been reacting to whatever's come along. To do some real detective work, I'd go for that right now."
"Tell you what, I'll talk to Bruce see if he's got a mission. Maybe we can get out of Gotham for a while. We can work it together. Replacement's not up to it anyway. Demon can train him for a change."
"All right," Dick gave his baby brother a kiss on the forehead and laid him back down in the bed. He covered Tim with a blanket. "I'll grab some stuff from my room."
JBDJBDJBD
'I'm still pissed. I don't know what I can do to calm myself. Dick should have known better. How long have those two been teaching Tim . . . Samantha has barely been here for two months. Maybe busting a few heads will release this anger. Haven't been patrolling, lately.'
Bruce put on his uniform. He was about to leave when Jason came into the cave.. "What are you doing here, Jason?" Batman's words were always a little harsher than they normally would be if he didn't put on the cowl.
"Whoa there, don't get so snippy Daddy Bats," Jason stated with his arms raised. "I just came down to see if there was a case Dick and I can work on together."
"There are plenty of cases that need attention. Take your pick."
Batman jumped into the car and sped off. Jason watched him leave for a few minutes then went over to the stack of folders by the bat computer and started looking through them.
'Hmmm here's one . . . Children disappearing . . . Not from Gotham . . . Chicago . . . Oh wait, there have been a few disappearances here. Police though had marked them as possible run-a-ways. I wonder why Bruce marked them as suspicious. Could be interesting. I'll take it up to Dick.'
DTJDTJDTJ
Tim's dream was back. A dark, ragged figure in the background was enticing more than just children. It was seeking out souls, certain souls. Some just disappeared without a trace. Then Dick was there. He was walking as if in a trance, heading toward that mysterious figure in ragged black. Tim couldn't see his face. 'Dick!' Tim cried out in his dream, tossing and turning. 'Who are you? Why are you doing this? Where are they?' The mist cleared and Tim was alone.
"Hey Golden Boy," Jason went into Dick's room. "I got us a case."
"What is it?"
"It's a case out of Chicago. Some kids disappeared. It will get us out of Gotham for several days."
"Okay."
"Bruce is on patrol. We could pack a bag, take the red eye, leave a note for Alfred and just get out of here. Probably should pack some equipment just in case.
"Alright sounds like a plan," Dick replied. He couldn't wait to get out of the Manor and away from Gotham for a while. 'First to go to my brother.' Dick went over to Tim's room and noticed that he was mumbling in his sleep. He touched his face, letting his aura connect with Tim's. 'I guess I'm going to miss him for a few days.'
"Come on Dick." Jason coaxed. "Tim will be fine without you for a few days. I'll go pack a bag and get the car. You pack a bag and get your equipment. I'll meet you out front."
Dick left Tim's room. He needed to pack his bag quickly. Dick made sure that he had everything he needed inside of it, including his Nightwing outfit. Before leaving, Dick went back into Tim's room. He scribbled down on a piece of paper that he and Jason would be away for a few days. He told him where they were headed. He left the note on Tim's desk and headed down the stairs and out the front where Jason was waiting for him.
"This will be fun, you'll see," Jason said.
"Jay, I hope so. I really do."
Alfred came in and opened Tim's window. The room was feeling stuffy. Outside a figure in ragged clothing stood in the shadows staring up at Tim's room. "He must be eliminated my brethren, just like the others. Then we can feed on the one with the light."
Alfred took a cursory glance at the note left by Master Richard. He noticed Master Timothy had kicked off his covers in his sleep. He covered Master Timothy once more with a blanket and exited the room. A breeze blew across Tim's desk and the paper fluttered to the floor and under the bed.
Continues With Part 3